Clearaudio universal tonearm re-wire.

@hiendmmoe

@mijostyn is happy to offer his expertise, but he didn’t answer my question about his real-world experience with this arm. His advice is very good if not painfully obvious to most of us doing our own setup. I wonder if he’s touched or ever even seen a Clearaudio Universal, much less dealt with the extreme caution required for removing/installing cartridges on one.

I agree with you. I can’t envision stripping the insulation and re-soldering a lead. Nevertheless, the problem is when they snap, as they do so easily, it’s usually close to the point of exit from the wand, and off to Germany for a rewire in that case.

As good as this arm is (and I have two of them), it is a scary PITA to deal with during cartridge installation. I usually enjoy a nice API first to calm my nerves. LOL

@dwette 

Yes, I have looked at it, but I have never used one. The wiring did not strike me as odd.

You do not strip that wire, you burn the insulation off with an 850 degree soldering iron, a solder pot, or a little torch. When you put the heat shrink on put a crimp in it just behind the pin. You want to make sure the solder joint can not flex.

@mijostyn I can confirm that looking at a Clearaudio Universal tonearm does not result in broken head shell wires. I have hours of experience doing just that and it never happened.

The truth of the matter is that the fragility of the head shell wires is real and well-known. The users know it, the dealers know it, and the U.S. distributor knows it (as they warned me about it first). You’re not the expert on it this time.

@dwette 

Then the options are, being very careful or rewiring the arm with something more sturdy. You might find out what Schroder uses. His wires are very fine and litzed. I have changed cartridges at least a dozen times without difficulty. I think there are Kevlar fibers in there, but I am not sure. It is surprising that a problem that has become so public has not been corrected by Clearaudio. 

It is surprising that a problem that has become so public has not been corrected by Clearaudio.

@mijostyn I love my Clearaudio decks but there are definitely "warts" not brought to light by the mainstream audio press. I’ve have a list of "WTF" moments with them over the years, especially certain design decisions. A good example was their full magnetic bearing arms - yeah let’s add ANOTHER high compliance suspension to complexly interact with the cartridge suspension lol. Another example, my dealer had an early twister clamp where the metal twist knob didn’t have a hard stop on loosening - it was very easy to over rotate, then it pops right off and you have a few ounces chunk of metal like a wrecking ball right over your record and cartridge. Anyways, the complaints about Universal tonearm lead wires are legit - it’s borderline sadistic. I’ve almost never seen an "official" reviewer write about design issues like this, but it’s prevalent in the industry. If I used it half as much as my other arms, I'd have broke a lead by now. I don't use it much because I suspect I don't like the sonic contributions of carbon fiber in my analog - but its build quality and materials quality, other than lead wires choice, is extremely high.